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On this day: August 19

2012: English film director and producer Tony Scott, best known for directing action movies such as "Top Gun," "Beverly Hills Cop II," "Days of Thunder," "True Romance" and "Crimson Tide," dies after jumping from a Los Angeles County bridge. The brother of fellow film director Ridley Scott, the 68-year-old director wrote two notes before his death, including a message left in his Los Angeles office for family members. A second note detailing contact information was found in his Toyota Prius parked nearby, but the notes did not provide a motive for why he took the suicidal plunge, authorities said.

2010: The last American combat brigade, the 4th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, withdraws from Iraq, bringing an end to Operation Iraqi Freedom. About 50,000 American troops would remain in the country in an advisory capacity under a new mission dubbed as "Operation New Dawn" before full troop withdrawal was completed in December 2011.

2010: A federal grand jury indicts retired baseball player Roger Clemens for allegedly lying to Congress about steroid use. Clemens' first trial ended in a mistrial during its second day, but he was eventually found not guilty in a second trial on June 18, 2012.

2009: Don Hewitt, the television news producer and executive best known for creating "60 Minutes," dies of pancreatic cancer at age 86 in Bridgehampton, New York.

2005: The comedy "40-Year-Old Virgin," starring Steve Carell (far left), premieres in theaters. The movie was directed, written and produced by Judd Apatow and also featured (from left to right) Paul Rudd, Romany Malco and Seth Rogen. The film became a summer hit, opening at No. 1 at the box office with $21.4 million and grossed a total of $177 million worldwide. The film was the first big film hit of Carell's career and helped launch him as a movie star.

2004: Google Inc. stock begins selling on the Nasdaq Stock Market. The initial price was set at $85 and ended the day at $100.34 with more than 22 million shares traded.

1995: After spending three years in prison for rape, Mike Tyson returns to the ring, easily beating little-known boxer Peter McNeeley by disqualification after 89 seconds.

1995: After five days, Shannon Faulkner quits as the first female cadet to enroll at The Citadel, citing emotional and psychological abuse and physical exhaustion. Faulkner, who enrolled following a successful lawsuit against the South Carolina military academy, underwent four hours of training and then spent the remainder of the first week in the infirmary.

1991: Hurricane Bob makes landfall in Rhode Island as a Category 2 hurricane. The storm, the second costliest U.S. hurricane at the time, left extensive damage throughout New England in its wake, totaling approximately $1.5 billion and killing 15 people.

1991: Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev is placed under house arrest while on holiday in the town of Foros, Ukraine, while hard-line members of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union attempt to take over the government in a coup. The attempt collapsed after two days and Gorbachev returned to power, but the events destabilized the country and led to the demise of the party and the collapse of the Soviet Union later in the year. Seen here are tanks in Red Square during the coup attempt.

1989: Rapper, actor and basketball player Romeo is born Percy Romeo Miller Jr. in New Orleans. The son of rapper and entrepreneur Master P and former rapper Sonya C, he was previously known as Lil' Romeo and is best known for the hit single "My Baby," which topped Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Rap Tracks charts. He's also appeared in the movies "Honey," "Jumping the Broom" (pictured) and "Madea's Witness Protection," and in the Nickelodeon sitcom "Romeo!"

1987: In Hungerford, England, Michael Ryan shoots and kills 16 people, including his mother, with an assault rifle and then commits suicide. He also wounded 15 other people in the attack. In the wake of the massacre, the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1988 was passed in the United Kingdom, which banned the ownership of semi-automatic centerfire rifles and restricted the use of shotguns with a capacity of more than three cartridges.

1980: Saudi Arabian Airlines Flight 163, a Lockheed L-1011 TriStar, makes an emergency landing at Riyadh International Airport after a fire broke out in the plane's cargo compartment. The aircraft continued to burn on the ground, killing all 301 people. At the time, the incident was the second deadliest single aircraft disaster in history, after the March 1974 crash of Turkish Airlines Flight 981, which claimed 346 lives.

1980: Otto Frank, the father of Anne Frank, dies of lung cancer at age 91 on Birsfelden, Basel-Landschaft, Switzerland. He was the sole member of his family to survive the Holocaust after the Franks, including his wife Edith and his daughters, Anne and Margot, were captured in August 1944 after hiding for two years in secret annex in Amsterdam. After receiving Anne's diary and papers, he arranged for their publication in 1947.

1977: Actor and comedian Groucho Marx dies at age 86 in Los Angeles, California. He was best known for the 13 films he made with his siblings, the Marx Brothers, and for hosting the radio and television game show "You Bet Your Life." He was also known for his distinctive appearance, which included an exaggerated stooped posture, glasses, cigar and a thick greasepaint mustache and eyebrows.

1976: President Gerald R. Ford wins the Republican presidential nomination at the party's national convention in Kansas City, Missouri. Ford, who had ascended to the presidency when President Richard Nixon resigned in August 1974, would ultimately be denied a full term, losing to the Democratic candidate Jimmy Carter.

1969: Rapper Nate Dogg, best known for his collaborations with rappers like Dr. Dre, Eminem, Warren G, Tupac Shakur and Snoop Dogg, is born Nathaniel Dwayne Hale in Clarksdale, Mississippi. Some of the hit songs he was most associated with include Warren G's "Regulate," Dr. Dre's "The Next Episode" and 50 Cent's "21 Questions." He also released three solo albums, "G-Funk Classics, Vol. 1 & 2" in 1998, "Music & Me" in 2001 and "Nate Dogg" in 2003, before dying of complications from multiple strokes at the age of 41 on March 15, 2011.

1969: Actor Matthew Perry, best known for playing Chandler Bing on the sitcom "Friends," is born in Williamstown, Massachusetts. He's also starred in the short-lived TV series "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip," "Mr. Sunshine" and "Go On," and in movies like "Fools Rush In," "The Whole Nine Yards" and "17 Again."

1966: Country music singer-songwriter Lee Ann Womack, whose hit songs include "I Hope You Dance," "The Fool" and "A Little Past Little Rock," is born in Jacksonville, Texas.

1965: Actor Kevin Dillon, best known for his roles on the HBO series "Entourage" and in the movie "Platoon," is born in New Rochelle, New York.

1965: Actress Kyra Sedgwick, best known for the TNT crime drama "The Closer," is born in New York City. She's also known for roles in movies like "Singles," "Heart and Souls," "Something to Talk About" and "Phenomenon."

1964: The first American tour by The Beatles begins at the Cow Palace in San Francisco, California. The tour would last a month through August and September.

1963: Actor John Stamos, best known for his TV roles in "Full House" and "ER," is born in Cypress, California.

1960: The Soviet Union launches the Korabl-Sputnik 2 satellite with the dogs Belka and Strelka, 40 mice, two rats and a variety of plants. After a day in orbit, the spaceship returned to Earth, making the animals the first living organisms to return from space.

1958: Pro Football Hall of Fame offensive tackle Anthony Muñoz, who played 13 seasons for the Cincinnati Bengals, is born in San Francisco, California. The 11-time Pro Bowl selection played in Super Bowls XVI and XXIII, both narrow losses to the San Francisco 49ers, and is considered by many to be the greatest offensive lineman in NFL history.

1955: Actor Peter Gallagher, best known for movies like "Sex, Lies, and Videotape," "While You Were Sleeping" and "American Beauty," and the TV series "The O.C.," is born in New York City.

1952: Actor and director Jonathan Frakes, best known for playing Commander William T. Riker in the television series "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and subsequent films, is born in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania.

1951: St. Louis Browns owner Bill Veeck sends 3-foot-7-inch Eddie Gaedel to pinch-hit in the second game of a doubleheader against the Detroit Tigers. Gaedel, who became the shortest player in the history of the major leagues, was walked with four consecutive balls before being replaced by a pinch-runner at first base. His jersey, bearing the uniform number "1/8," is displayed in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

1948: Mary "Tipper" Gore, best known as a former second lady of the United States as the wife of Vice President Al Gore, is born Mary Elizabeth Aitcheson in Washington, D.C. An author and photographer, she is also known for co-founding the Parents Music Resource Center, which led to the creation of the Parental Advisory label on music albums.

1948: Actor Gerald McRaney, best known for the TV series "Simon & Simon," "Major Dad" and "Promised Land," is born in Collins, Mississippi.

1946: Bill Clinton, the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001, is born William Jefferson Blythe III in Hope, Arkansas.

1945: The Viet Minh led by Ho Chi Minh (pictured) take power in Hanoi, Vietnam.

1944: The Liberation of Paris begins during World War II with an uprising by the French Resistance against German occupation of the city. With the help of Allied troops, German forces eventually surrendered on Aug. 25.

1940: Actress Jill St. John, best known for her role as Tiffany Case, the Bond girl in 1971's "Diamonds Are Forever," is born Jill Arlyn Oppenheim in Los Angeles, California.

1939: Drummer and songwriter Peter "Ginger" Baker, best known as a member of the rock bands Cream and Blind Faith, is born in London, England.

1934: The first All-American Soap Box Derby is held in Dayton, Ohio. The national winner was Robert Turner of Muncie, Indiana, who made his car from the wood of a saloon bar.

1930: Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Frank McCourt, best known as the author of the memoir "Angela's Ashes," is born in Brooklyn, New York. He died from melanoma at age 78 on July 19, 2009.

1929: The comedy "Amos 'n' Andy" makes its network radio debut on NBC, after initially premiering on Chicago radio station WMAQ in 1928. The show, which featured its white creators, Freeman Gosden and Charles Carrell (seen here in a promotional postcard for the show), playing two black men from the Deep South who moved to Chicago to seek their fortunes, would become one of the most popular radio programs in American history and the first in the country to be distributed by syndication. Throughout the show's run, first on the radio and later on television, it was a frequent target of criticism for promoting racial stereotypes.

1921: Ty Cobb of the Detroit Tigers becomes the fourth major-leaguer to reach 3,000 career hits. He would go on to collect a total of 4,191 hits in his career before retiring in 1928, setting a career hits record that stood until Pete Rose passed him on Sept. 11, 1985.

1921: TV screenwriter and producer Gene Roddenberry, best known as the creator of "Star Trek," is born in El Paso, Texas. He's seen here (third from right) in 1976 with most of the cast of the original "Star Trek" TV series and movies at the rollout of the space shuttle Enterprise. He died from cardiopulmonary arrest at the age of 70 on Oct. 24, 1991.

1909: The first automobile races at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway take place. Part of a three-day, 18-event slate of races, the day saw races won by Louis Schwitzer, Louis Chevrolet and Ray Harroun, but was marred by tragedy when driver Billy Borgue and his riding mechanic, Harry Halcomb, were fatally injured in the final event of the day.

1883: Fashion designer Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel, who founded the Chanel Company, is born in Saumur, France. Her influence expanded beyond just clothing to jewelry, handbags and fragrance, with her signature scent, Chanel No. 5, becoming an iconic product.

1871: Aviator Orville Wright, who with his brother Wilbur is credited with inventing the world's first successful airplane and making the first controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air human flight, is born in Dayton, Ohio.

1848: The New York Herald breaks the news to the East Coast of the United States of the gold rush in California, although the rush had actually started in January. The California Gold Rush would bring 300,000 new arrivals to the state and help push California toward statehood.

1812: During the War of 1812, the American frigate USS Constitution defeats the British frigate HMS Guerriere off the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, earning her nickname "Old Ironsides."

1782: The Battle of Blue Licks, the last major engagement of the American Revolutionary War, ends with the overwhelming defeat of Kentucky militiamen by a combined force of American and Canadian loyalists and American Indians in what is now Robertson County, Kentucky. The battle came almost 10 months after the surrender of the British commander Charles Cornwallis following the Siege of Yorktown, which had effectively ended the war in the east.

A.D. 14: Augustus, the founder of the Roman Empire and its first Emperor, dies at age 75 in Nola, Italia, Roman Empire. Born Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus, he was adopted posthumously by his maternal great-uncle Gaius Julius Caesar following Caesar's assassination and ruled from Jan. 16, 27 B.C., until his death.

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